


The Spell Didn't Work, Maybe

by Stringsattached



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Child Abandonment, Child Neglect, Chris Argent is pretty cool, Derek Hale Has Feelings, Future Fic, Kid Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-02
Updated: 2018-02-02
Packaged: 2019-03-12 20:14:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13554756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stringsattached/pseuds/Stringsattached
Summary: When Stiles sets off to find Derek, who has gone missing again, he ends up driving half way across the country. He doesn't find Derek but what he does find will change everything.This story is set about a year after season 6b.





	The Spell Didn't Work, Maybe

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first story I'm posting in this fandom, and the first one on Archive of Our Own. I'll figure out the formatting, eventually.
> 
> Please, forgive any goofs in grammar, as this is all mine and un betaed. If you would like to be my beta, I'm also working on a huge, multi-chapter fic which is all about Stiles.

Stiles’ fist pumped the air as a small, red dot appeared on the map of the United States spread out on the table before them.

“Whoa, that actually worked,” Scott said.

“Mr. Stilinski, do I have to warn you, again, about the dangers?” 

Stiles grinned at Deaton, making the enigmatic vet just frown a little more. “I know, I know. The spell is vague at best, but this is the best lead we’ve had in weeks so, I’m going with it.”

The spell was a last ditch attempt to find Derek. Stiles had returned from his first year at the pre-FBI program to enjoy a summer at home since he had spent the previous summer doing an internship. The internship turned out to be way more exciting than anyone had planned, but then again, Stiles was involved. It was great to be home, seeing his Dad and Scott, but no one could figure out where Derek was and it seemed no one had seen him in weeks. The phone that Derek had promised to keep on him after Chris Argent tracked him down had been disconnected.

Stiles had finally gone to Deaton to ask for help in refining a spell that would help him find the missing werewolf. Deaton actually showed a flash of surprise when Stiles outlined the framework of the spell for him, not knowing that the young man’s social life had been just as educational as his university classes.

“Well,” Stiles said, “It looks like we’re taking a road trip to Minnesota. Who’s in?”

Stiles groaned at the regretful look Scott threw him, realizing that he was on his own for this one. “Sorry, bro. I have to log those hours to get my credit and I promised my Mom I would put school first, again.”

Stiles wanted to be angry at this friend but he knew that Scott was right. After all, Stiles had taken off to do the FBI internship the summer before and left them all to deal with a supernatural vs hunter war breaking out at home.

“I can ask ‘Lia or one of the others to go with you,” Scott offered.

Stiles waved him off, “Nah man, I can do this on my own. Having anyone from the junior pack along would just be more work, and Malia would be.. um, awkward.”

Scott nodded, realizing that sending his girlfriend along with his best friend who is also her ex-boyfriend on a road trip might be a bad idea.

The next morning Stiles climbed into his Jeep, placed the map with the glowing red dot on the passenger seat, plugged in the phone charger Scott had insisted on, and said goodbye to his carefree summer at home.

It took Stiles two days, with a full nights sleep at a cheap motel, to reach Minnesota. He had learned that depriving himself of sleep never really ended well and he relished his sleep since the Nogitsune related nightmares had dissipated, finally.

The red dot led him to a nice, suburban neighborhood where it seemed half the houses had an SUV and a boat in the driveway. It seemed like the last place one would find a formerly broody ‘wolf. As it turned out, it was. Following a full day of surveillance, Derek wasn’t there.

The house had a fairly large family with about 4 kids, from what Stiles could see. Blonde, blue-eyed parents, a petulant looking pre-teen and a few smaller, lighter haired kids screaming in the backyard.

Disappointed, Stiles found a clean looking hotel that didn’t cost too much and called Deaton to figure out why the spell didn’t work. Deaton was just as mystified, and vague as usual. The hair they used was definitely Derek’s and there wasn't anything too complicated about a locator spell. 

The next morning, Stiles found himself back at the house, actually knocking on the door this time, instead of being a creepy lurker who lurked. He would ask them outright if they knew Derek and, when that panned out, he would call Chris Argent since the man had found Derek the last time Derek had been off the map. In fact, he sent a text to Chris to let him know he’d be calling in a few minutes before he fell out of the Jeep and made his way up the driveway.  


The door was answered by a tired looking woman who looked Stiles up and down before asking, “What do you want?”

Stiles put on his best smile, “I’m actually looking for a friend of mine. Do you know a Derek Hale?”

“Nope,” snapped the woman, moving to close the door and looking even more aggravated when Stiles put out his hand to stop her.

“Are you sure? He’s about my height, well built, dark hair, probably has a beard, and greeny-blue eyes?”

“Look, I don’t know the guy. I’m real busy here so why don’t you just go look somewhere else.”

“But,” Stiles started when his phone went off. The woman just glared at him before looking over her shoulder as a loud banging started somewhere in the house. With his foot holding the door open, Stiles glanced at his phone and answered it, while returning the woman’s glare. “Argent, thanks for calling but I’m in the middle of something here, I’ll call you back in a few.”

“Fine, I’ll wait,” Chris growled back at him, obviously irritated.

As Stiles shoved his phone back into his pocket he realized that the woman was watching him suspiciously. With a deep sigh, at the interruption and at the growing ruckus behind her, she waved him into the house.

Stiles smiled at her as he entered, wondering why her attitude towards him had shifted. “I’m Stiles, by the way.”

The woman looked confused at this name for a moment. “I’m Amanda, just wait here.”

Stiles waited just inside the door while Amanda strode into the back, yelling reminders to her kids to settle down and to get back to some task they were doing. She returned after a couple of long minutes that had let Stiles take a good look around the messy house, wondering how anyone dealt with so many kids.

“Who were you talking to on the phone?” She demanded of him.

“Oh, uh. A friend of mine, actually he’s the father of an old friend who died but he’s become part of our little, um, group.” Stiles stumbled out.

“Argent?”

“Yeah, Chris Argent. Do you know him?” Stiles was becoming more and more confused but he would take any clue as to where to look for Derek.

“I don’t know a Chris Argent but I do know a Kate Argent, at least I used to,” Amanda told him. “Are they connected somehow?”

Stiles started to scratch the back of his head, uncomfortable and starting to wonder what kind of trap he had walked into, all by himself,like an idiot. “Yeah, Chris was Kate’s brother, but she’s gone now.” Amanda looked pissed off and a little confused. “Kate died almost a year ago.”

“Well, shit,” Amanda flopped down in a chair. Stiles stood there, feeling very unsure and not really knowing what to do. “A couple of years ago, Kate left something here, saying she’d come back in a couple of months, at most. I’ve been wondering what to do with it and was almost ready to take it to the cops, but my husband kept stopping me. He said that if she came back and we didn’t have it, there would be hell to pay.”

“How did you know Kate?” Stiles asked, trying to put a timeline together to figure out what the hell is happening.

Amanda chuckled darkly, “I didn’t really, she was an acquaintance of my husband. She was part of a group of his hunting buddies that he doesn’t really talk to anymore.”

“Hunting? What kind of hunting?” Stiles was panicking a little.

“You know, weekend hunting trips for whatever is in season. My husband is crap at it though, he never came back with anything and it just ended up costing us so much, so I asked him to stop going.”

“Ah, yeah. That stuff can be pretty expensive,” Stiles responded. This lady had no idea and it sounded like her husband never filled her in but Stiles would bet his left kidney that their little hunting trips had nothing to do with deer.

“Well,” Amanda said, standing up and looking like she’d made a decision. “If you know Kate’s brother you can just take it back to him. I’ll go get some stuff together.”

Stiles sat in the front room, just wondering what the hell he’s gotten himself into when a couple of small kids peeked around the corner, giggling to themselves. Their light brown hair had paint streaked through it and it seemed they had been enjoying some arts and crafts before becoming curious about the stranger in their house. Stiles just gave them a wink and a little wave before they let out a little squeal and ran off to what Stiles assumed was the kitchen.

Amanda stomped back down the stairs and dropped a half full, white garbage bag at his feet. “This should keep you going for a bit,” she muttered.

Stiles stood, grabbing the bag, “Okay, I’ll take this to Chris. Thanks for your time.”

Amanda laughed at him, “That isn’t what Kate left, idiot. That’s just some stuff that I can spare until you can get more. I’ll be right back, wait.”

When she left the room, Stiles glanced into the bag, seeing what looked like some rumpled clothes and a book. He could hear Amanda berating the kids for their mess and it didn’t take long for her to return but Stiles was too stunned to react.

Amanda was pushing a small child ahead of her with a tight grip on the boy’s shoulder. Stiles couldn’t see the kids face since he was looking at the floor, but he could see the dark, badly cut hair and the tense way he held his fists at his sides.

“This is what Kate left behind and I’m glad you are here to take it off my hands, finally,” Amanda snapped at him, giving the boy a little shove in Stiles’ direction.

“What?” 

“Look, Kate left her kid here and promised to come back and didn’t. Is that so hard to understand? I can’t keep him anymore, he doesn’t have any paperwork, so I can’t even get him into school and people will start asking questions. And kids are real spendy, ya’ know?”

At this the boy glanced up at Amanda with nothing but anger on his little face. When Stiles saw his face all the pieces fell together and it all started to make sense. The boy had kaleidoscope eyes, that combined with the dark hair, shocked Stiles into a type of recognition. The spell had led him to a Hale, alright. Just not the one he was expecting.

Seeing the boy’s anger towards Amanda and recalling how she had referred to the child as “it” during their conversation, Stiles had a sudden rush of sadness on behalf of the child. He dropped to one knee, causing the boy to turn and look him in the face. Stiles met those amazing eyes and gave him a small smile, “Hey there, I’m Stiles. What is your name?”

The boy narrowed his eyes a little, just staring at the strange man in front of him.

“His name is Andrew, he’s just too rude to talk to you himself,” Amanda snapped out.

Stiles had the sudden need to remove Andrew from this house, where he was obviously unwanted and not well treated. But twenty year old men couldn’t just take off with children, no matter how much he wanted to. He looked up at Amanda, seeing her in a new light. He realized that the other kids were probably her own and that she had treated Andrew as an outsider in her own family.

“I can’t just take him! I’ll be arrested as soon as I cross the state line,” Stiles told her.

Amanda scoffed at him, “You said his mother is dead and there never was a father, he’s got no paperwork. As far as the law exists, the kid doesn’t exist so you can do whatever you want as long as you take it off my hands.”

Stiles felt himself losing control of his anger at Amanda for telling the kid that his mother was dead in such a callous way while continuing to refer to him as an it. He saw the surprised look, quickly suppressed on the child’s face. Stiles had to think quickly, get a plan together, and get Andrew somewhere he would be cherished, as a child should be. “Okay, I’ll figure something out. I’ll come back tomorrow and help get custody and what not sorted out.”

Amanda laughed at him again. “No, you take him now,” she shoved Andrew again, making him stumble and Stiles reached out to steady him. “I don’t want to be involved in this anymore, it’s your problem now. Take him to Argent, or whatever, I don’t care.”

She marched over to the front door and opened it, obviously waiting for them to leave.

Stiles could feel the boy vibrating a little and realized the boy was shaking and terrified but was too afraid, or stubborn, to show it. His heart melted at the terrified little sound that came out of the boy, too quiet for Amanda to hear. Stiles was still kneeling so he turned the boy to face him.  
“Hey, Andrew. I know some of your family members and they are pretty great people. They will be super excited to meet you ‘cause they don’t even know about you. You will be the best surprise ever. What do you think?”

Andrew listened to him before shifting his eyes to Amanda and then back to Stiles. “Are they nice?” 

Andrew’s little, hopeful voice was the last straw for Stiles. He smiled at Andrew, “Yeah, buddy. They’re the best.”

“You know my family?”

Stiles nodded solemnly to the little boy, realizing how serious the question was. “I knew your mother a little bit and I’m sorry that you don’t have a mother anymore. I also know other people who are part of your family, why don’t I tell you about them in the car?”

Andrew stared at him a few moments, as if trying to read the truth and asses Stiles in his little head. Stiles didn’t have to wonder why the boy didn’t have an easy time accepting him or trusting what he said. The impatient women, trying to get them to leave her house, told him everything. Finally, Andrew gave a little nod to himself and gather up the little garbage bag to his chest, “okay.”

“Alright, let’s go. See that awesome blue jeep? That’s mine. Why don’t you go climb in while I say goodbye to your, uh, Amanda. Do you want to say goodbye to anyone before we go?”

Stiles shouldn’t have been surprised by the vehement no he received before the boy ran to the jeep and started to climb inside. Stiles stepped into the doorway and turned to look at Amanda. “Do you want my phone number so you can check on him?” He offered, giving the woman one last chance to show an ounce of caring.

“Nope, good luck with it. I think you’ll need it,” she smirked, a nasty look on her face.

Stiles turned and walked to the jeep, glancing back as she slammed the door. “What a bitch,” he muttered as he climbed in behind the wheel.

“Yeah,” Andrew agreed from the back seat.

Stiles glanced back at him, seeing the little boy had belted himself in and was clutching the bag to his chest, seeking some sort of comfort while trying to look brave. “Andrew?” Stiles waited until the boy looked up from his feet, “It’s going to be better now, you have my word and I don’t break my word. Do you believe me?”

Andrew glared at him a little before muttering out a “yeah” that Stiles didn’t believe for a second. 

“You hungry? I am.”

Andrew just shrugged his thin, little shoulders.

Right, so the mission he was on had changed, in the most dramatic way possible. Stiles figured that the spell had found Andrew instead of Derek because the child was obviously Derek’s and the timeline was almost making sense. After starting the jeep he pulled up his phone and searched for the closest Target store. Things, lots of things would be needed.

“Andrew? Do you know how old you are or when your birthday is?” Stiles called back, over the sound of the Jeep’s engine.

“Um, I’m five but I don’t know about my birthday,” the child admitted.

Stiles wasn’t sure if the boy had his own age correct but if he didn’t know his birthday, it was little wonder. “That’s okay, I’m really good at solving mysteries like birthdays,” he assured the boy.

Andrew just glanced at him as if he really couldn’t care less about his age or birthday.  
When they pulled into the Target parking lot, Stiles asked for the plastic bag and dumped everything out onto the passenger seat. As he had suspected, there wasn’t much more than a couple of pairs of underwear, socks, T-shirts, a pair of jeans and a toothbrush. After looking at the sizes on the labels, he sighed and pulled out his phone, checking a couple of websites before moving to get out of the car.

“Aren’t you coming?” He asked Andrew.

“Oh, okay.” Andrew responded with surprise before scrambling over the seats to get out.  
“Have you been to this store before?” Stiles asked as he took Andrew’s hand to lead him through the busy parking lot. Andrew just shook his head, biting his lip and looking down. Stiles have the little hand in his a small squeeze before plastering a smile on his face, “This is going to be a blast,” he told the boy.

Andrew managed to scarf down a whole hotdog, ketchup only and, a full order of fries at the little restaurant before they grabbed a cart and made their way into the huge store. It took a little while for Stiles to figure out the sizing in the toddler section, since all the stuff in the boys area had been too big.

Finally, a booster seat and a small duffle bag were added to the cart and Stiles took a good look at the boy, who had started fidgeting. “What’s wrong?”

Andrew bit his lip, looking at the floor, and mumbled something that Stiles couldn’t hear. Crouching down, Stiles asked again.

“I gotta pee,” Andrew admitted.

“No problem, buddy. Let’s find the bathroom,” Stiles told him, trying to sound reassuring.  
There was a bit of a standoff before Stiles realized that Andrew was so unfamiliar with being out that he wasn’t sure how to use a public bathroom, so he went in with the boy. He even made a game of them washing their hands but he couldn’t even get the boy to crack a smile when he flicked water his way. It occurred to him that the boy was far too similar to his father.

Thankfully, no one had disturbed their abandoned cart and they made it to check out safely. When the total came to almost $500 Stiles didn’t think twice about pulling out the pack credit card, for emergencies only. If this wasn’t a pack emergency, he didn’t know what was. The only problem was that he’d have to call Lydia to explain the charges.

By the time they had the booster seat unpackaged and put in place along with all the bags, Andrew looked like he was drifting off. Stiles made the decision to get another hotel room, get the boy settled, and make a lot of difficult phone calls. First, a text to Lydia. They had been working hard on remaining friends after the big break up resulting from Lydia keeping him out of the loop during his internship.

Hey L. Used pack CC in MN. Use is for official business. Will tell you more from BH in a few days. Hugs.

It only took a few moments for Lydia’s acknowledgement to come in.

Can’t wait to hear THIS story!

Andrew was his silent, little shadow while he checked into another hotel for the night and lugged all the bags up to their room. Stiles sent the boy to the bathroom to brush his teeth and got him settled on one of the beds with a book about Curious George while he sorted through all the shopping and tried to remove labels and generally organize things.

It wasn’t long before the stubborn kid nodded off and Stiles could escape to the hallway to have a proper meltdown before calling his best friend. After a few minutes of controlled breathing and making his scalp hurt with all the hair tugging, Stiles sat on the carpet and put his back to the hotel room door so he could hear if Andrew woke up.

For once, Scott answered on the first ring. “Stiles! Bro, how are you? Did you find him? When you heading back here?”

“Hey, yeah, I didn’t find Derek but I’ll be heading back in the morning,” Stiles told him, having just decided it.

“Okay, did something happen or was the spell a dud?”

“No, actually. The spell worked but it led me to something a little more surprising,” Stiles paused, not quite sure how to tell Scott. “So, it turns out that Derek has a kid and the spell led me to the kid instead of Derek, probably because he was closer or something.” At his friend’s silence, he continued, “We’ll hit the road tomorrow and be back in a couple of days and then you can meet the little mini-Derek known as Andrew.”

“What? Stiles! You can’t… you can’t just…,” Scott started to raise his voice and Stiles smacked himself in the head for not leading with the whole custody issue. “Stiles, you can’t just take off with someone’s kid, unless you did find Derek, but you didn’t so, what about the mom? Stiles, you can’t take this kid away from the mom? Who is the mom? Is it Braeden?”

“No! No, Scott. It’s a long story and I have to make some other calls but I am in no way kidnapping Andrew. I am not taking him away from his mother, I’m just going to bring him to his actual family, okay?”

“But..”

“His mother was Kate,” Stiles blurted, cutting of the continued questions he knew Scott would have. “She left him with this lady who really didn’t want to have him anymore but he’s got no documentation or anything so I have to make some calls.”

“How do you know he’s Derek’s?”

“If he isn’t Derek’s kid, he is definitely a Hale. The eyes, and the hair, and the general surliness, it’s all there in one little five year old body.”

 

“But, how?”

“You see Scott, a man and a woman have different body parts and, sometimes..”

Scott cut his friend off with a growl. “I figure Kate must have done something that time she took Derek to La Iglesia, the timing just about fits. That would also mean that Derek has no idea and that Kate, well,” Stiles didn’t want to say that he thought Kate had raped Derek yet again, he didn’t want to think about it.

“Yeah, okay. So the kid had no records or anything,” Scott said, finally coming around.

“Yeah, that’s why I have some more calls to make. We’ll see you in a couple of days, okay?”

“Okay, dude. Drive safe. Call and let me know how it’s going,” Scott told him before hanging up.  
The guy never says goodbye on the phone.

Next, Stiles called his Dad to check in and let him know he was going to head home, nothing more. The Sheriff told him to call on his way and to drive safely before he had to get back to work.

Stiles bit his lip a little too hard while he scrolled through his phone to find the next number, taking a deep breath before hitting the dial button. It didn’t take long for the call to be answered but there was a distinct pause before Chris said, “Stiles.”

“Hey, Chris. I’m so sorry about earlier today. I’m sorry to be calling you like this, I really am, but I need a sorta huge favor,” Stiles said, just diving right in.

After an audible sigh, “What is it?” Chris almost barked out, his patience with Stiles had never been the best.

“Remember how you whisked Isaac out of the country? Well, I figure you had documentation made up for him, right? I kinda need that sort of thing.”

“What have you done that you need to leave the country?”

“No, no. That’s not it at all. There’s a kid that belongs with his family but he is totally undocumented and not listed on any database, anywhere. I’m hoping that you could create an ID for him, or something.”

“I’m not going to help you commit some kind of felony against a kid, Stiles,” Chris growled out. “Who is this kid and why are you the one helping him? Where is his family?”

Stiles bit his lip again, wondering how much detail to go into. Family meant everything to Chris after he had lost so much, maybe that would convince him.

“He’s Kate’s son, Chris.” Stiles waited a few moments to let that sink in. “He is just about five but he’s not sure what his birthday is but I’m willing to bet it’s about 9 months after Kate took Derek to Las Iglesia cause he looks just like a mini-Derek but he’s your nephew, Chris.” Once Stiles started, he couldn’t seem to stop until he ground his knuckles into the carpet.

“Where are you?”

“Minnesota, but we’re heading home tomorrow. It should take about two days,” Stiles breathed a sigh of relief, knowing Chris would help.

“Text me the kid’s full name and estimated birth date, I’ll have something made up.”

Stiles would have told Chris thanks, but the older man had already hung up.

That night, they ordered pizza, stayed in, and just hung out. Stiles figured the kid was in a bit of shock, he was so quiet and passive so he decided to just wait him out. It was a long car ride, after all.

The car ride the next day was really, really long. Stiles ended up doing almost all the talking after a serious conversation in which Andrew admitted that he didn’t know what other names he had. Stiles texted a name and a guess at a birthday to Chris first thing in the morning. After that, the kid just sat in the back, watching the world go by. Considering that they were currently driving through South Dakota and eastern Wyoming, there really wasn’t much to see. The silence made Stiles really uncomfortable but he tried to remember whose child this was and played music, or filled the silence with stories about his own childhood.

Cheeseburgers, fries, and gas station snacks carried them through the next day. The night at another hotel wasn’t too restful because Stiles was having some serious thoughts about Andrew’s well being.

The kid was way too quiet and when he did show any emotion, it was either fear or anger. Stiles knew a thing or two about being afraid and angry but he also knew that, at Andrew’s age, that would have lasting effects. He took another look at the little boy sitting in his backseat. He looked totally passive but his little hands were clenched into fists and Stiles just hurt for him.  
They were just getting through the mountains and there were a ton of national parks in the area. The next time Stiles saw a sign for a hiking trail, he pulled off the highway and followed the signs. Andrew didn’t stir until the jeep was pulling into the gravel parking area.

“What’s happening?” Andrew asked, almost too quiet to hear.

Stiles was grabbing a couple of bottles of water and some snacks and tossing them into his backpack, he also grabbed a hoodie for Andrew that Stiles had picked out in Target.

“We’ll use the bathroom, over there,” Stiles explained with a pointed finger. “Then you and I are going for a little hike in these lovely woods.”

Andrew froze, a look of terror making his eyes seem so big. Stiles immediately realized his mistake.

“No one is going to hurt you, little man. You and me, we’re just going to go yell at those mountains. You may think I’m a little crazy, and I am, but can you trust me?”

“I don’t trust you,” the boy responded, angry at being caught being fearful. Stiles almost laughed, remembering the boy’s father saying the same thing to him in the school swimming pool. It seemed so long ago now.

“That’s fair, you have no reason to trust me. Still, we’re going for a walk. I need to stretch my legs,” Stiles tried to remain patient, stumbling out of the jeep and holding the door open for Andrew to hop down.

When they had walked without seeing another person for about twenty minutes, they came along a gully with lots of loose, little rocks. Stiles spied a nice looking boulder and leaned against it, taking in the view and watching Andrew out of the corner of his eye.

“You know, my mom died when I was just a few years older than you,” Stiles said, almost conversationally but with no response from his small companion. “It made me super sad, and angry. That feeling never really goes away but I try to remember the good things.

“Do you remember your mom, or just Amanda?”

While he waited for an answer, he leaned down and picked up a few small rocks. It wasn’t until he’d chucked the third one against the far wall of the gully that Andrew offered up an answer.  
“I think I remember her but not really, just Amanda.”

“Huh. Tell me about Amanda and the other kids. What are their names?”

“Um, Shelly, Ainsley, and the twins are Ben and Alex.”

“Were they nice brothers and sisters to have? I never had any brothers or sisters,” Stiles responded, throwing another rock and listening to the clatter.

“They not my family, not brothers and sisters. So, they got family stuff but not me.”

“Wow, that would make me pretty angry.”

Andrew just nodded a little, seeming to shrink into himself.

“Here,” Stiles handed a small rock to Andrew. “Throw that as hard as you can, put all your angry feelings into it.”

Stiles shouldn’t have been surprised at the strength the little boy had. He didn’t know if the boy was a ‘were or not but he was still so little it might be hard to tell.

“Go on, I know that you are probably stronger than the other kids, you don’t have to hold back. It’s just me here,” Stiles told him, handing over another rock.

The angry look that Andrew gave the rock before throwing it so hard it almost seemed to break let Stiles know he was on the right track. He just kept handing rocks over and the boy let more and more of his emotions out, the anger, the fear, the abandonment he felt all passed over his expressive face. Finally, finally the tears started.

Stiles stopped passing rocks and held out his hand, crouching down. Andrew gave him a tearful look before throwing himself into Stiles’ arms, almost tipping them over.

Stiles held the sobbing boy, rubbing his back and not saying anything.

“It’s good to cry, Andrew. You got a raw deal and it sucked, you should be angry. I’d be super sad too. You don’t have to hide it. I’m sorry that you haven’t been loved like you deserve, I promise that is going to change but it sucks, I know. Go ahead, you deserve a good cry. We all do sometimes,” Stiles just kept murmuring to him, stroking his back and letting the boy sink further into him.

Almost an hour later, Stiles found himself carrying a sleeping child back to the jeep. Not so great planning on his part but he couldn’t bear to wake Andrew up now that he had finally let go, and relaxed a little bit. He woke up enough to climb into his booster seat and accept the bottle of water from Stiles. Stiles couldn’t help but plant a kiss into Andrew’s ruffled hair. It almost choked him up when Andrew leaned back into it for a moment. No five year old should be that starved for affection.

“Ready to hit the road again?”

“Yeah,” Andrew gave him a little smile which was the best thing to happen to Stiles all day.  
A few hours later, as they were starting to leave the mountains behind them, Stiles’ phone rang.  
He glanced back at a still sleeping Andrew before answering as quietly as he could.

“Scotty,” he greeted.

“Bro, good news. Where are you?”

“Um, about four hours out. We had a little delay but everything is fine.”

“Okay, that’s good.”

“Scott?”

“Yeah?”

Stiles rolled his eyes, “What news do you have?”

“Oh, yeah! Right. Well, Derek called and he’s on his way back too. He’s flying in from South America so he’ll get here some time in the middle of the night,” Scott explained.

“What has he been told?”

“Nothing, just that we need him here. He probably thinks it’s some big attack on the town or something. I didn’t want to tell him anything yet.”

Stiles let out a huge sigh of relief, “That’s really good, Scott. I’ll just head to my house when we get in and then we’ll head over to Derek’s in the morning. Okay?”

“Yeah, that’ll work. Give me a call when you’re getting close,” and Scott hung up, again with no goodbye.

Well, this plan gave Stiles time to get home and have a minimum amount of panic attacks before springing the news on Derek. He decided to pull over at the next stop for some food and to wake Andrew up. He didn’t want him to be up all night, after all.

At the last stop to get gas Stiles called his dad, wanting to avoid any lectures about driving a being on the phone.

“Hey son,” the Sheriff greeted.

“Dad, how’s it going?” Stiles almost smacked himself in the forehead. His dad always knew when something was up because Stiles tried to be too casual.

“Not too much, you?”

“Almost home, should be about an hour and a half or so.”

“Ah, son, I’m sorry. I’m going to be at work when you get home but I should be there at midnight or so.”

“Dad, that’s okay. I just, I gotta tell you that I’m sorta… babysitting?”

There was a long enough silence that Stiles checked to see if they had been disconnected.  
“What does that mean? Whose child is it?”

“Well, I want to tell you all about it when you get home, although I’m sure Andrew will be asleep by then,” he said, watching the boy listen to his conversation. He didn’t want to say too much in front of the boy and hoped his dad would pick up on it.

“None of your friends have children, Stiles,” his dad wasn’t going to let this go.

“That statement is incorrect, as it turns out,” Stiles responded.

The sheriff let out a big sigh, finally picking up on his son’s need to discuss this another time. “Well, get home, get this Andrew settled, and then we’ll be having a nice long father-son chat.”

“Sounds like a great plan, dad. Well done,” Stiles said, almost smacking himself in the face again.

When he had hung up he started up the jeep and pulled back onto the highway.

“I’m not a baby,” came Andrew’s angry voice from the back seat.

“I know that, little man.”

“So how can you be babysitting if I’m not a baby?”

“It’s just a word that gets used when someone is taking care of a friends kid for a little while,” Stiles explained.

“But I don’t know your friends,” Andrew argued.

Stiles was super tired, had an almost numb ass and was emotionally exhausted. He wasn’t ready to deal with this.

“Hey, remember I told you I’d take you to your family? That’s what I’m doing. When we get there it will be too late so we are going to sleep at my house tonight and then, in the morning, we’ll meet everyone,” Stiles told him.

Andrew threw himself back against the seat and crossed his arms in a huff. In the rear view mirror he looked just like a mini-Derek. Some things were obviously genetic.

As he drove he thought back to all the times Derek had shown off his biceps by crossing his arms and trying to look intimidating. It had only worked on Stiles for the first few months, before Stiles figured out what a mess of man pain Derek really was. Glancing back at his son now, Stiles realized that the arm crossing was a defensive move to protect Derek from others realizing his hurt feelings.

“Hey buddy, I know you are nervous but you won’t be alone. I’ll be right there and you are going to be the bestest surprise every. Everyone is going to adore you, I promise.”

Andrew just continued to glare out the window for the next hour and a bit.

The house looked amazing when they finally pulled into the driveway and Andrew followed behind quietly as Stiles carried everything in.

“Here we go, buddy. This is the house I live in with my dad. You can sleep in my bed tonight, I have glow stars on the ceiling,” Stiles told him, glancing back to see whether or not he was listening. They’d done drive through for dinner and it was getting pretty late. “How about a bath before hitting the sack tonight?”

Andrew stopped looking at all the pictures on the hallway wall and stared at the floor.

“Would you prefer a shower?”

Andrew shook his head so minutely that Stiles wouldn’t have noticed if he wasn’t staring right at him.

“Andrew? What is it?” Obviously something had really stressed him out but Stiles couldn’t figure it out.

“Will…” Andrew paused, clenching his fists and staring at the floor. “Can I have warm water?”

Stiles swallowed down the nasty comment he wanted to throw Amanda’s way and took a knee so that Andrew would look at him, which he did. “You can have the warmest water you can stand, you can stay in as long as you want. Have you ever had a bubble bath?”

Andrew shook his head but the corner of his mouth lifted up, just a smidge, at Stiles antics.

“Right then, let's get our stuff in my room and run a nice, hot bath,” Stiles said, rising up and continuing on to his room.

If Stiles knew that blowing shampoo bubble bath bubbles all over the room would make Andrew laugh, he would have been using the hotel tubs much more. The sound of the boy’s laugh was light, happy and made out of pure joy. When he first giggled, Andrew had stopped to check with Stiles, who just grinned back at him. It was hard to keep smiling when all evidence was telling him just how abused this little boy was.

After he had dried Andrew off, giving him a faux hawk hairdo just to hear him laugh again, he tucked the boy into his own bed. Half way through a story and Andrew was snoring very lightly so Stiles made his way downstairs to wait for his dad.

The sheriff arrived home at exactly 11:45 to find his son, and a finger or two of whiskey waiting for him. The father and son had come to an agreement of absolute honesty, even if it sometimes had to wait until there was enough time to explain.

Stiles relayed the whole tale to his dad, being sure to emphasize that the boy was undocumented but that Argent was going to take care of that.

Noah finished his drink and took a few moments. “Is he okay? It sounds like he’s had a rough time of it.”

The love he felt for his dad just grew a little, making Stiles’ chest feel tight for a moment. He should have known that his dad’s first thought would be like Stiles’ own first thought, the welfare of the child.

“What’s next?”

“Derek is getting in tonight, from South America. I’ll call Chris and ask him to meet us at Derek’s new apartment about mid-morning. I’d like you to meet Andrew, maybe over breakfast? We’ve been eating fast food for about three days now,” Stiles explained.

“Sounds good, kid. Maybe I’ll come with you in the morning,” Noah said, standing and clapping a hand on his son’s shoulder. “Enjoy the couch tonight. I’m proud of you, son.”

Stiles basked in his father’s approval for a little while before going up to check on Andrew and pull on some sweats to sleep in. The couch wasn’t so bad, for one night.

Sleep didn’t seem to be an option that night. Too many scenarios were running through his mind, almost none of them ended well. What had he been thinking about when he decided to surprise Derek with the existence of his own child? What if Derek rejected Andrew? Didn’t believe that Andrew was his? The thought of what would happen to Andrew if Derek rejected him resulted in Stiles finally getting up and pacing.

He didn’t know how well Derek was going to react and that unknown factor was driving him crazy. Also, this could really hurt Derek, considering who Andrew’s mother was. It could bring up a lot of past trauma and it was at that moment that Stiles realized why Kate had kept Andrew a secret.

Andrew was Kate’s last weapon against Derek and the Hales.

It was still early when he heard sounds from above as his dad stirred and started getting ready for the day. Stiles had pancakes on and the table set by the time is dad appeared in worn jeans and a sweatshirt. He handed the spatula over so he could go get Andrew up.

“Good morning, buddy. Rise and shine, there are pancakes downstairs,” he whispered into the boys ear, letting him wake up slowly. Andrew was the epitome of adorable when he was just waking up and it seems that pancakes were a good goal for him. It didn’t take long for the two of them to stumble down the stairs.

“Hey there,” Noah said, a big grin on his face as he crouched down to Andrew’s level. “I’m Stiles’ dad, my name is Noah. Stiles and I are making some pancakes, would you like some? I’m pretty sure we have whipped cream and sprinkles.” 

At Andrew’s little nod, the sheriff turned back to flip the last couple of pancakes and the boys all sat down to eat. Breakfast went well and Noah let Stiles handle most of the stuff with Andrew because he sensed that the boy trusted his son more than anyone else at that moment. The boy only spoke to Stiles but kept a wary eye on the sheriff too.

“Okay, buddy. Let’s get dressed and ready to meet some people. You nervous?” Stiles asked the boy, leading him back upstairs.

“Yeah, my tummy feels twisty,” Andrew told him.

“Oh I know that feeling. Honestly? My tummy feels a little twisty too but I think that is because I’m excited about you meeting your family,” Stiles told him, pulling out a clean shirt and checking the boys jeans to see if he needed clean ones.

“What if they don’t like me?”

“Hey, there is nothing about you that isn’t awesome. Even when you are angry and sad or quiet or happy, you are the greatest five year old I know. All my friends, your family, will love you as much as I do.” Stiles didn’t even realize what he had said for a moment but he took a second to think it over.

“I don’t love people very easily, you know. I’ve only known you for a few days and I love you, I do. So, no matter what, you’ll always have me in your corner. Okay?” Stiles dropped down to look Andrew in the eye, trying to convey how serious he was.

A small, hopeful look crossed Andrew’s face before he shut it down into a cute, little scowl. He didn’t want to trust Stiles because he was afraid of something bad happening again. Stiles knew that and just continued on, directing Andrew into the bathroom to brush his teeth and get ready.  
Stiles then took a few moments in the privacy of the hallway to panic and question all his life choices, yet again. What the hell had he just done? He’d committed himself to a five year old that wasn’t his and who he’d just spent all night worrying about. Stiles looked up at the sound of his dad chuckling at him. Finally, his dad walked by, clapping a heavy hand on Stiles’ shoulder.  
“Good luck, son. Let me know when we’re leaving, I don’t want to miss this and we are going to make sure that no one does anything to hurt that child.”

Stiles scrubbed at the back of his head. “Yeah, about that. I think that I should tell Derek about him without Andrew there. Just to give him time to adjust, you know? But I don’t want to leave Andrew so I don’t know what to do,” Stiles admitted.

“Well, why don’t Andrew and I go to the park while you go to Derek’s place. Give me a call and I’ll bring him over when you decide it’s the right time.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Stiles answered. He wasn’t too sure about leaving Andrew with anyone else. He’d become used to being solely responsible for him even though he knew he could trust his dad.

“I’ll take good care of him for you,” his dad assured him.

“I’ll run it by Andrew but that should be good. Thanks, dad.”

“Anytime, son,” his dad said, clapping him on the shoulder again as he passed.

“I can go to a park?” A small voice asked from behind Stiles.

Stiles turned around and smiled at the boy as he wiped a bit of toothpaste from the corner of his mouth. “Did you rinse and spit out all the toothpaste?”

“Yeah, it’s pretty gross if you swallow it,” Andrew told him solemnly.

“Okay, so I have a couple of things I need to do and it would be super boring for you but my dad has been hoping to go to the park and I was hoping you could take him for me?”

“Can I drive?”

“Not yet, my dad will drive but you have to watch out and make sure he is careful. Can you do that for me?”

 

“You’ll come back, right?”  
Stiles pulled Andrew into a tight hug, “I’m not going anywhere buddy, I’ll definitely see you before lunch time. Will that work for you?”

Andrew actually hugged him back, just a little, before pulling out of the embrace. “Okay, as long as we can have lunch together.”

“Good, it’s a plan. We are going to leave all your clothes and your toothbrush here because this is where I want you to sleep tonight. After you’ve met your family we might make a different plan, but they are my friends so I’m going to be around, bugging you all the time.”

Andrew quirked up a little smile at that before running off to find his favorite book.

It was mid morning when Stiles banged on Derek’s apartment door until a very tired, grumpy looking werewolf answered the door. He didn’t let Stiles in, he just opened the door and stared at him. Stiles was too nervous to be polite and he remembered just how angry he was at Derek for pulling yet another disappearing act.

“Can I come in?”

Derek seemed to grit his teeth in annoyance but he did step aside. It didn’t take long for Stiles to turn and start firing questions at him.

“Where have you been? Why didn’t you call? How did Deaton find you? I looked everywhere for you! I even followed a locator spell to Minnesota for you! What if something had happened, huh?”

Derek seemed to pick up on the nervousness and the scent of fear from Stiles because he calmed down a little, even as Stiles got worked up.

“I’m sorry, I went to see Cora and then I was just travelling around,” he shrugged. “I turned it off on the airplane and forgot about it,” Derek tried to explain.

“For weeks?” Stiles was incredulous.

Derek just shrugged, crossing his arms and uncrossing them. “Yeah, sorry.”

“How did Deaton find you?” Stiles repeated.

“He didn’t, really. I was already heading back here and I was going to call you, so I turned on my phone. There were a ton of messages from him. Are you going to tell me what’s going on, or are you here just to make my morning painful?”

It was all so simple, in the end. Derek’s explanation took the wind right out of Stiles’ indignation. He let himself drop down onto Derek’s little used sofa. “I can’t believe you were coming back on your own, after Deaton helped me do a locator spell and everything,” Stiles muttered, knowing Derek would hear anyways.

“About that,” Derek raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, I met a couple of people on the east coast that helped me develop very small, almost non-existent spark. I can barely light a candle and I can’t even do a simple location without someone’s help, like Deaton.”

“So you drove all the way to Minnesota, looking for me?” Derek scoffed, “I don’t think it worked very well, Stiles. I was kind of in the opposite direction.”

Stiles sat up, this was it, he had to tell Derek. “Except that the spell did work, Derek. It led me, quite perfectly, to a piece of you,” Stiles explained, the tone of his voice letting Derek know he was being quite serious.

Derek shook his head, “I don’t understand, I don’t think I’ve ever been there.”

“Here is the thing,” Stiles paused, biting his lip. “I’m sorry for bringing this up, okay?”

Derek shifted back a bit, then seemed to rally himself, “Go on.”

“Kate had a child, one that she kept a secret so much that he doesn’t even have a birth certificate. He was born about nine months after she kidnapped you and took you to Mexico,” Stiles stopped there to asses Derek’s reaction so far. All he saw was a bitter look and gritted teeth.

“Kate left him with another woman, in Minnesota, and never went back for him. That is what I found,” Stiles explained.

It took about two seconds for Derek to leap up and disappear from the room. Stiles went running after him, seeing him tossing clothes into a duffle bag that was still sitting on the floor of his bedroom.

“What are you doing?” Stiles asked, alarmed.

“What do you think I’m doing,” Derek growled. “I’m going to Minnesota!”

“No, no, you don’t have to do that,” Stiles started to explain.

“What do you mean? Of course I do,” called Derek from where he’d gone into the bathroom. The sounds of things being pushed around and hastily packed were almost louder than Derek’s voice.

“No, I mean you don’t have to go to Minnesota. I brought him back with me,” Stiles yelled.  
All the clattering suddenly stopped and Derek walked back out into the bedroom, staring at Stiles.

“You what?”

“I brought him to Beacon Hills. He is here, where he belongs. He really needs a family and you and Chris are it for him, other than the pack. I couldn’t leave him there Derek, the lady looking after him wasn’t too thrilled to have him and she wasn’t very nice. I couldn’t leave him there, knowing he’s your son,” Stiles rambled, trying to convey why he’d essentially kidnapped a child.

“How do you know he’s mine?” Now that Derek had stopped his skeptical side seemed to be kicking in.

Stiles laughed, “Just wait until you see him. Put him in jeans, a little henley shirt, and a leather jacket and he’s a mini-Derek. Trust me, I knew who he was as soon as I saw his eyes.”

“A mini-me?”

Stiles snorted at the stunned look on Derek’s face. He could probably push the man over with a feather without him noticing.

“Yeah, dude. It’s kind of amazing, actually.”

At the soft tone in Stiles’ voice Derek looked up at him, a slow smile creeping onto his face.  
“I’m a dad?”

Stiles took a couple of steps toward him and clapped him on the shoulder, a smug smile on his face. “Yeah, you’re a dad.”

Derek’s face dropped, “Oh shit, I’m a dad,” he muttered in a slightly panicked voice. Stiles had never seen Derek be so emotive. He had shown more expression on his face in the last hour than in all the years Stiles had known him.

“I gotta tell you something else, though,” Stiles said, sitting on Derek’s bed. Derek just raised an eyebrow, whether in curiosity or in affront at Stiles being in his personal space. “Andrew, he’s had a tough time of it. He is awesome but he’s also very angry, untrusting, and showing signs of being mistreated and abandoned.”

Derek’s face grew stormy. There was the small snick sound of claws being unsheathed.

“I don’t think he remembers Kate at all, she must have dumped him off when he was really little. I imagine he’s had a fantasy idea of her all this time, which we know isn’t true, but he doesn’t,” Stiles explained.

Derek nodded once, “Got it, don’t vilify the mother, no matter how much of an actual villain she was.”

“Yeah,” Stiles breathed a sigh of relief that Derek understood. He had simply told Andrew that he was sorry he didn’t have a mom anymore, not that he was sorry Kate herself was dead. Kate was, obviously, never much of a mom anyways. “Also, he has been really, really nervous about meeting his family. I haven’t told him that you are his dad, I wanted you to have that. I hope that’s okay.”

“Wow, yeah. Good,” Derek seemed to be thinking it through. “You always have the best plans, I’ll tell him.”

A silence fell between the two friends, one waiting for the other to process how much his life had just changed. When Derek started to fidget a bit he told him the next part. “I had to tell Chris, not just because he’s now an uncle but because I needed him to create paperwork for Andrew. We have to make all this legal, especially since he should be going to school soon.”

“Chris is making documents?”

“Yeah, Andrew didn’t know any other names so I made them up, as well as his birthday. You can always change everything but I wanted to get the ball rolling considering I was driving halfway across the country, across state lines,” Stiles defended himself.

Derek picked up on Stiles defensiveness. “It’s fine, Stiles. You must have been in a bit of a tough spot and pretty surprised, too.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Stiles responded, thinking back. He’d really just gone into auto pilot, he didn’t think he’d done anything great.

“Can I see him?” Derek asked, hopeful and smiling.

Stiles was taken aback at the transformation he had witnessed in Derek. Something about finding out he was a dad, or something about his travels had removed a layer of the prickly defensiveness in the older man. Not that Stiles blamed Derek for being untrusting and defensive, but it was still nice to see.

Since they were sitting next to each other on the bed, Stiles leaned over to bump shoulders with Derek. “He’s at the park with my dad. You ready?”

Derek actually considered the question for a moment, taking a deep breath in and audibly pushing it back out. “Yeah, I think I’ve been ready for a while.”

Stiles didn’t know what that meant but he grabbed Derek’s arm and hauled him towards the apartment door, until Derek shook him off with a small chuckle. It didn’t take long for both of them to be in the car and Stiles couldn’t contain his curiosity anymore.

“What do you mean, ready for a while?”

Derek stared out the window for a full minute and Stiles didn’t think he was going to answer him at all, it wouldn’t be the first time. “The reason I’ve been away from here, it’s hard to explain.”

“Try.”

Derek huffed out a very familiar, annoyed sound at Stiles. “I felt a pull to something. I thought it was Cora, but I got there to see her and it wasn’t. Then I just travelled around, trying to figure it out. Finally, I just felt like I should come back here.”

The two men sat in silence for a couple of minutes. Finally, Stiles could hold it in anymore. “You felt like part of you was somewhere else? That’s kind of awesome, dude,” he exclaimed, swerving a bit with excitement.

Derek glared at him until both hands went back on the wheel. “Yeah, it is, so I’d like us to not crash on the way there. Plus, I can smell him in here and you were right. He’s definitely family,” he explained.

“Gotcha, we’ll be there in a few minutes,” Stiles assured him.

Later, Stiles would remember that afternoon as one of the best times in his life. When Andrew met Derek, it seemed that he just knew that Derek and he were supposed to be together. He was still surly and rude in his anger but Derek didn’t seem to mind at all. He probably saw himself in the boy’s attitude. They had hung out for a few minutes at the park before the Sheriff left to go home and watch a game. That left Stiles, Andrew, and Derek to go get some ice cream and just hang out.

For almost two hours, Stiles did all the talking. Then Andrew and bumped into Derek, who he hadn’t touched yet, stopped, and seemed to take a long sniff. Derek had dropped into a crouch, right there on the sidewalk, and asked, “Do I smell like I belong with you? Because that is how you smell to me.”

Andrew had shifted and not looked Derek in the eyes, despite his small nod. Derek just crouched there and waited him out, cone forgotten. “I don’t talk about smells and stuff,” he told Derek.

“That’s actually a really good plan, and very polite too,” Derek assured the boy. “Especially when you can smell so much more than most people. How did you learn that?”

“Mr. Colin told me. He said that anything that makes me look different is dangerous,” Andrew confided, leaning in towards Derek a little more even while he still wouldn’t make eye contact.

“Mr. Colin sounds really smart, and like he wanted you to be safe.”

Andrew nodded, with a small glance at Derek’s face.

“That makes me really glad, that someone was looking out for you when I couldn’t.”

Andrew scrunched up his face in confusion.

“Your family is supposed to protect you and help you learn, and have fun with you. You didn’t really have that, did you?”

Derek’s words were so soft that Andrew finally looked at him, his own eyes shining with a build up of tears.

“I’m so sorry, Andrew,” Derek whispered, so sadly. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be there for you since the second you were born. I’m your family and I should have been there.”

“Is that why you smell so good? You’re my family? Like Stiles?”

Derek laughed a bit wetly, “Yes, exactly.”

Andrew reached out then, and placed a small hand on Derek’s cheek. “It’s okay, Stiles told me that you didn’t know about me. Can we be a family now?”

Stiles was shocked to see a tear slip free and roll into Derek’s beard, then again, he knew Andrew could turn anyone into mush. Derek smiled at his son, “Yes, we can be a family from now until the end of time.”

Andrew gave a little, decisive nod and bit his lip, just like Stiles did. “Good.”

Derek rolled forward a bit, so that his knees landed on the pavement of the sidewalk. He then opened his arms a little bit, in the most non threatening pose Stiles had ever seen him take. “Would you like a little hug? If its too much, you just let me know when you would like one. I’m not going anywhere and I can wait for a long, long time until you are ready.”

Andrew looked up at Stiles, whether he was asking permission to share his affection with someone else, or he was too nervous to touch Derek, Stiles wasn’t sure. So, Stiles came up with an alternative, holding out both fists. “Fist bumps, all round!”

Andrew balled up his little fists and bumped both Stiles and Derek at the same time, solving all the current issues. Derek shot a grateful look at Stiles, as if thanking him for saving him from overstepping his son’s comfort level. The action broke the somber mood and Stiles wiggled his hand towards the ice cream shop, as if he was truly starving. Andrew laughed at him and they were on their way, again.

Later that evening, Chris dropped by the Stilinski residence with a very important manilla folder in hand. He said a quick hello to everyone before his eyes landed on the little boy.

“Andrew,” Stiles called. “This is your Uncle Chris. He is family and safe, okay?”

Andrew nodded in silent acknowledgement before turning his attention back to the tv.  
Stiles shrugged at Chris, “It’ll take time. He’s as untrusting as his dad,” Stiles explained.

“I can’t really blame him,” Chris grumbled, handing over the envelope. “I’m not going anywhere so I have time to earn his trust, as long as Derek allows it.”

Derek, who had risen from his spot at the kitchen table just raised an eyebrow. “I think I’ll need all the help I can get,” Derek told Chris. It was that comment that cemented the relationship between Derek and Chris, which became one of friends and comrades within the next decade.

Stiles handed the envelope to Derek and looked back at Chris,”How much was it for the documents? I’ll be able make some payments, if that’s okay with you.”

Chris raised an incredulous eyebrow at Stiles before turning towards the door with a last glance at the little boy. He slapped Stiles on the shoulder, nearly toppling him, “You’re family, no charge.”

Stiles stared at the door until Derek pushed him back towards the kitchen to sit down. “Drink your coffee, Stiles,” he muttered, slipping paperwork onto the table.

Derek sat and fingered the birth certificate of his son for a long time after Stiles had finished his coffee, but Stiles was able to just sit and watch his friend. A whole novel’s worth of expressions worked their way over Derek’s face.

Finally, he looked up at Stiles. His face was so open and vulnerable that the younger man just wanted to reach out and hug him, letting him know everything would be okay. He had never initiated contact with Derek, so he restrained himself now.

“How did you pick his name?” Derek grated out.

“Oh, yeah. That. It was pretty spur of the moment, you know. You can absolutely change it, I’m so sorry if it’s not something you want. I just..”

“Stiles,” Derek interrupted what was sure to be an epic ramble.

Stiles scrubbed a hand over his face to stop and focus himself. “I knew your dad’s name from the report and I wanted Andrew to have a family name so it was either Andrew Derek, or Andrew Sebastian, and Sebastian sounded better. I don’t know, I’ve never named a kid before.”

Derek looked down at the certificate again, then back at Stiles. “Andrew Sebastian Hale. Stiles, it’s perfect. Thank you.”

Stiles couldn’t take it anymore, the puppy dog look that the big, bad, ‘wolf was suddenly able to move his face into. He slid out of his chair and threw himself at Derek, wrapping his arms around the broad shoulders and patting him on the back. He wasn’t sure what to expect, to be pushed away, thrown away, or clawed at. What happened next was a total surprise.  
Derek tugged Stiles against him, ducking his face into Stiles’ hair and clinging to him, overcome with the day’s emotion and needing this contact, this constancy of Stiles always being there for him. “Thank you,” he whispered into his hair, over and over again.

Neither of them had noticed the small boy moving into the kitchen to watch, in wonder as these two, important new people in his life, seemed to be so happy that they were crying. Andrew could smell it, both the happiness and the tears. He shuffled from foot to foot, until Derek moved his head to look at him, a fond smile on his face.

“Maybe,” Andrew started and then stopped, unsure of what he was asking for. Derek just smiled more at him, making him feel comfortable. “Maybe, can I hug too?” he asked in a small voice.

Stiles threw his arm out, keeping one around Derek. “Little dude! Get your hug on in here, this is a family hug and you totally belong,” he crowed at him.

Derek rolled his eyes.

Andrew gave them a small smile, amused at the antics of the guy who had changed everything for him.

Then he moved into their embrace. It was warm, being hugged by two people at the same time.

It felt really good, though. Family.

Maybe, just maybe. Well, Andrew wasn’t too sure. But, maybe.

This feeling that was inside him, while being hugged and protected.

Maybe, that’s love.

Derek’s arms tightened around them.

“Pack,” Derek mumbled.

“Pack,” Stiles confirmed.

A few moments passed.

“Pack,” sighed Andrew, content.


End file.
